Brothers
by futureauthor13
Summary: It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep the two Doofenshmirtz siblings from completely hating each other. Sometimes, a small moment, a kind action, a nearly-forgotten memory, is all two people need. Oneshot, no pairings.


It was another cloudy day in Gimmelshtump. With no more garden gnome duties since his family finally had enough to get their old one back, Heinz found himself with nothing to do. He did have some spare parts in his room that he could tinker with, but whenever he did that Roger would just tattle on him and his father would tell him to 'stop wasting time on such a useless activity!'.

'Yeah well, kickball isn't exactly that useful either,' Heinz thought, although he would never dare say this out loud to his family, it was guaranteed a slap or a night sleeping outside with no supper.

So, the young boy just leaned against an old tree and thought. 'I think I'll move to America when I get older,' he said, thinking briefly of the country across the ocean. He had heard others call it the land of opportunities. Would he feel so useless there? Maybe he would find something he was good at there, something people would praise him on. A rare smile crossed his face as he continued thinking of success and rewards, or at least he would have if a red rubber ball hadn't come flying towards him.

The ball hit above his head, barely missing his face and slamming into the tree, although it was still surprising enough to make Heinz yelp. He heard laughter, and scowled. "That wasn't funny!" he shouted.

"Oh come now, Heinz," his younger brother said with a smirk, "It was just a joke."

"It wasn't a very funny one," Heinz mumbled. Even at a young age, he loathed his younger brother. He was just so perfect. He was great at every sport, both his parents loved him, his grades at school were just as high as Heinz despite being six years younger than him.

Even when it looked like his younger brother would finally stumble, that he would finally get in trouble and be scolded, Roger would always somehow find away to make it look like he was still perfect and Heinz was still a failure. 'I'll find a way to be better than you, I swear I will one day,' Heinz would always think, though as the years went on that seemed less and less likely.

"You know, being almost thirteen years old, I wouldn't think you would be afraid of a ball," Roger chuckled, "Anyway, I wanted you to come with me to my kickball game."

Heinz raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. The kids in the village had seen how bad he was at kickball, they would never let him play in a million years. Yet here was his little brother, handing him invitation.

"Yeah, we need someone to chase after the ball when it goes off the field afterall," Roger replied. Heinz face fell and and was once again replaced with a scowl.

"Wow, I feel so needed," Heinz said flatly.

"I thought Father told you to stop using sarcasm."

"Let's just go," Heinz said, standing up. Knowing Roger's friends, they would purposely try to kick the ball into the outfield just so Heinz could chase after it like some stupid dog. They probably try to aim for Heinz when they were kicking. 'I'm going to be sore tomorrow,' the preteen thought, 'But I might as well just get it over with.'

As the two Doofenshmirtz brothers walked down the path, the younger one turned and started heading for the swamp. "Roger, where are you going?" Heinz asked. He wasn't in the mood for one of Roger's games where he would hide and try to scare him.

"This is a short cut," Roger insisted. Then again, when was he ever wrong. "Come on! Don't be slow!" Deciding it would in the long run be easier, Heinz ran to catch up with Roger, and the two walked through the swamp.

Like always, each brother's experience was different.

For Roger, he hopped over the branch, avoided the mud, stayed out of the toads' way, and stopped, standing safely on a small grassy area.

For Heinz, he tripped over the branch, landed face first in the mud, angered the toads causing them to poke and lick him with their harsh tongues, and ran towards the safe area, nearly tripping once again.

Roger couldn't help but laugh at his brother. "How much farther?" Heinz asked, grimacing and wiping the mud off his face.

"We just need to jump over to that area and then we just go past a few trees," Roger said, pointing at a dark brown area across from them. Heinz squinted, trying to get a closer look at the area.

It looked sturdy, like a pile of mud dried and hardened after a long day in the sun. But, there was something about it. The texture, the way it slightly moved. There was a small coating of liquid, and Heinz saw a couple small bubbles rise to the surface.

"Roger, wait," Heinz said, "It's not-!" But Roger just ignored his older brother's advice, and jumped for the mud.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As soon as the tips of his shoes touched the brown muk, they were sucked in. The platform broke apart, revealing the same green water that surrounded them. The boy slipped under it with a small splash and a loud scream.

"Roger!" Heinz shouted. He waited for the boy to resurface, to say something like he was okay and somehow make his failure all Heinz' fault. But he only briefly saw his brother's hand, now pale, limp and helpless.

'Of course,' he thought, 'Roger can't swim!' He was too young to take the manliness test, and because of the shame Heinz brought to his family during his dive, the Doofenshmirtz family never went to the public wetness maker, so the younger Doofenshmirtz never learned how to swim.

In other words, Roger was drowning.

His perfect, well loved, annoying brother was drowning, and was relying on Heinz to save him.

Of course, he did have a choice. But Heinz didn't even think about which one to choose.

Remembering that he couldn't swim either, he grabbed a nearby vine and tied it around his waist. Taking a deep breath, he jumped into the green water. The ice cold water hit him like a webbed foot to the face (he wasn't quite sure why he thought of that analogy, but he stuck to it) and the water was so thick it was hard to see through it. Luckily, Roger was always dressed in the cleanest, brightest clothes.

Heinz quickly spotted his brother's unconscious body was floating just a few feet below him. Quickly, he grabbed Roger's arm with one hand and started climbing the vine with the other.

He had read about adrenaline in his school's poor quality but still interesting text books. How it would either make you faster or stronger. 'I guess this time, it made me stronger,' Heinz thought as he broke through the surface.

Dragging his brother, as well as his own worn out body onto the grassy area, the two gasped for air. Once their lungs had got their fill of air, the two stayed silent.

The birds squawked. The swamp bubbled. A frog somewhere croaked. And the two boys, just laid their, almost not believing what Heinz had just done.

It was no secret the boys weren't close at all. But when Heinz saw Roger nearly drown, as much as his life would've been so much easier without him, as much as he loathed him, Heinz didn't hesitate to save him.

'Even a person like Roger doesn't deserve to drown,' the thirteen year old thought. And after all, they were brothers, even if it seemed like it was in name only.

"Heinz," said a soft voice. Heinz sat up, and looked at his brother. His clean clothes were soaked and covered with mud. His skin was pale and cold. His body was shaking, and his perfectly combed hair was matted and stuck to his forehead. His calm blue eyes were wide, and he almost didn't look like the confident boy Heinz knew.

"Yeah?" Heinz asked.

"I, I would like to go home now." Of course he would never admit how scared he really was. Heinz said nothing, and simply stood up. Roger followed, and the two walked out of the swamp together.

As soon as they reached their house, their mother and father met Roger with hugs and kisses, asking him if he was okay. His mother went inside to fetch a clean set of clothes, only one set. But Heinz already knew this would happen, so he quietly went inside and got himself another set of clothes.

When he finished, he entered the living room and could hear Roger explaining what happened, about how he had mistaken mud for a stable surface. His mother thanked the stars her little boy was alright, and his father praised Roger for not panicking and knowing what to do to save his own life. And Roger simply smiled and absorbed the praise and love, just like he always did.

The scene was so familiar, Heinz didn't even feel hurt at the sight of it anymore. Before heading into the kitchen to try and find something warm to eat, his eyes met Roger's. The two stared at each other for just a moment before Heinz looked away and walked into the next room.

"I hope there's still some soup left," the boy said as he looked into the pot on the stove. There was about an inch of luke warm, orange liquid in the pot, already getting some soup skin on it. But honestly, Heinz would take what he could get.

He grasped the ladle and began to pour the soup into his bowl when he heard his brother's voice once again. "Actually father, I-I have to say something." His ears perked up, but he tried to tune it out. He didn't want to feel disappointed again. But as he poured the soup, he caught the words he'd never thought he would hear.

"Heinz saved me. He saved me from drowning."

Heinz was in such a shock, he nearly dropped his bowl. "Boy, get in here," his stern father's voice called. Like a timid mouse, he scampered down the hall and peeked into the living room.

"Y-Yes Father?" Heinz answered.

The man looked at Heinz, his eyes stoic with the same level of hatred and disgust they always had when he looked at Heinz. However, for a moment they softened. "Good job," he said. It was two small words, a simple sentence, and yet to Heinz it felt like so much more. He looked at his brother, who offered him a small smile. Not a smirk, but a smile. Sitting beside Roger was his mother, and while she wasn't smiling, something was missing in her eyes and replaced with something better. Thankfulness, instead of regret.

He looked back at his father. "T-Thank you Father," Heinz replied.

"Yes," his father replied, looking away from him, "Now, leave."

"Yes Father." Heinz left, and as soon as he did, a small smile crept onto his face.

Because for a boy like Heinz, a little appreciation went a long way.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Heinz felt a wave of different emotions and feelings surging through him. Feeling thanks, feeling praise, maybe even feeling a little love. Despite such a horrid childhood, there were moments in Heinz' life with his family that weren't too bad. Most of those moments were around Christmas which, while it wasn't great it was still okay. Now, he had another moment to add to the (albeit short) list.

As the years went on, the incident at the swamp was soon forgotten by their parents. Roger was still the golden child, and Heinz was still Heinz. The two brothers still didn't get along. To Heinz, Roger was still annoying and a goody two-shoes. To Roger, Heinz was still the strange, crazy goat of the family.

But, if not for the day at the swamp, Heinz would maybe completely hate his brother, instead of simply be annoyed by him and want to humiliate him with the use of -inators (which Roger didn't even know Heinz built. He just thought his brother was still doing those weird, little, harmless projects). Not once did he ever think of seriously injuring or killing his brother.

And, if not for that day in the swamp, Roger may have completely dismissed Heinz from his life. He may have not spent those twenty years restoring an old painting that never saw the light of day. Sure, he still stayed away from his older brother, but there were times he remembered the day his brother saved him, despite all they had went through and would go through days after. The rare times he didn't think his older brother was such a weird doofus, but actually someone who maybe deserved more.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep the two Doofenshmirtz siblings from completely hating each other.

Sometimes, a small moment, a kind action, a nearly-forgotten memory, is all two people need. Even if they are destined to never get along.

**I swear, Doof's relationships are some of the most interesting ones I've ever seen. We all know about his relationship with Perry, Vanessa, and even Norm. But we sometimes forget about Roger. He claims he hates Roger, but his 'revenge' is only small pranks. Roger usually acts like a jerk, but there are times like in 'Magic Carpet Ride' and 'The Quietest Day Ever' when it seems like he can and would maybe want to get along with Heinz. I feel like these two were just siblings put in a bad situation. If it was a different family, maybe they could have even been as close as Phineas and Ferb. **

**But even with their history, even when it seems like they want nothing to do with each other, the moments when they do get along and the fact that they DON'T completely hate each other DESPITE their history make it more than just the standard 'Siblings never getting along' story. And I think that's really interesting. **

**Hope you guys liked this story, and I hope everyone is in character. I've never really written Young!Doof or Roger before so, constructive criticism is appreciated :) Please review, and have a nice day. **


End file.
